All My Favorite Things

I stumbled upon a great little vintage store as I was heading toward one of my favorite clothing stores (Gazelle Nature Fibre Clothing, in case you are interested). The store I discovered had a parking space right in front and I don't think that was an accident. The store? all my favorite things (a vintage store full of bits & baubles, furniture, & life) I introduced myself to the gentleman running the store, who was very friendly and welcoming. He told me his name and we even shook hands, but I was so intrigued by all the goodies in the shop, that I failed to remember his name! He told me his wife was the one in charge of the store, but he was quite the ambassador himself. His wife, Melanie Corson, maintains a blog about the store and I really encourage you to check it out. There isn't much I can say about the store because the name of the store says it all: all of my favorite things. Walk with me . . . .

And this is want I want for my birthday (hint, hint):

Oh, the store is located at 4419 N.E. Fremont in Portland. There are lots of great little shops in this section of Portland, by the way, so allow plenty of time to gunkhole.

Moonrise Sunrise

My oldest daughter Melissa works for the Tacoma-Pierce County YMCA at their Lakewood branch and last week they hosted a fund-raiser entitled Y Arts Week 2009. Melissa said the event was for "professional and emerging artists, hands-on activities, childrens' artwork, and professional musicians." Melissa asked if I would be willing to donate something for the show and sale. Since I didn't have time to create something from scratch, I decided to donate two pieces I had started earlier in the year while at ArtFest. The class, Spontaneous Intent Clayboard, was taught by Mary Beth Shaw and I wrote about the class and the process in an earlier post. I spiffed up and finished the two pieces and told Melissa to put a price of $50 each. Last Friday, the day after the event, I asked if they had sold. Here's Melissa's response:

Yes, your artwork sold! One of your biggest fans bought both of them and she has the perfect spot to hang them in her house!!!! I love your work!!!

My dear daughter purchased both pieces . . . and the YMCA has an additional $100 in their coffers.

Art and Soul: Rock On!

One of the benefits of attending an art retreat is the side trades that go on outside of the workshops. This is how it works: artists make multiple little art pieces with their name and website and/or blog information attached, either on the back of the art, on an attached tag, or on what is known as a moo card, which is basically a slim, pretty, artful business card. Artists just have to say, "Are you doing trades?" and anyone who is swarms over to the person who asked, with others also gathering around. Everyone whips out what they have made and the transaction is completed, usually with lots of oohs and ahhs.

Since the theme for this year's Art and Soul was rock 'n roll, I made some of my Bingo Babes using rock stars (yes, men can be babes) and a liberal sprinkling of glitter.





My friend Destree was also making trades, so she came over to the studio and we played together! Here is beautiful Destree with her art trades, Itty Bitty Rock Stars, in process.



Not knowing how many people would be trading, I also brought along some of the magnets I made for ArtFest for just in case; they were still a hit when given a choice between a metal magnet creation and a glittery rock legend!


Here is my booty from trading at Art and Soul this year, not nearly as much as last year, but a fun assortment of little pretties.


NOTE: The pretty posie at the top of this post was from one of my trades, but the artist didn't sign the back or attach a tag so I can't give her credit. I thought it was so pretty I wanted to use it as the intro to this post!

Art and Soul: Final Day

My final day at Art and Soul plopped me before Leighanna Light, ThingMaker. As with Katie and Lisa, I've taken classes from Leighanna in the past and enjoyed sitting at her feet so much that I signed up to take one of her classes: The Ultimate Passion Book. I didn't get very far in my little book, but I got most of the backgrounds on the pages completed, and now I get to decide what collage images to add and what metal dangles to, well, er, dangle. I'll do a post when I get my passion book completed.





What I learned: That I love Bullseye Amber Shellac. And that it is very stinky. And that we both have a pair of red Keene's!

Art and Soul: Heart Art

Saturday found me spending the day with Lisa Kaus, a familiar face, teacher, and artist. Lisa's class, Be Still My Beating Heart, combined all of the mediums I dearly love: found objects, painting, collage, and wax. Yum yum. And it was one of the only pieces of art that I got very close to completion (all it needs is a glass base, which will be added very soon).







What I learned: 6B and 8B Creta color graphite pencils are very cool to work with!

Art and Soul: Self-Discovery

My Saturday class, The Poetic Eye, actually started with a three-hour session on Friday night. It was great getting a jump start on all that L.K. Ludwig had planned for us. The class involved making a hand-made journal with a focus on self-portraits and poetry. We made lots of background pages and learned several techniques for adding photos and imagery.








Things I learned: How to cut a stencil, how to use nitric acid on gold mesh.

PS LK has written several art books, but I highly recommend one of my favorites on visual journaling, True Vision: Authentic Art Journaling. You can bet I had LK sign my copy!

Art and Soul: Thursday Alterations

What a cool idea for a class. Lesley Venable, a new teacher for me, came up with the idea to alter a band-aid tin! The name of the class is The Treasure Within - Altered Tin. After futzing with our tin, we filled them with mini collages on little samples of formica. I realized once I started doing my collages that they were all women, except for one house. I do believe I've created a brothel. Stay tuned for where I go with my Treasure Within. Here's what I got accomplished on Thursday:









What I learned: An easy method to make transfers using clear Contact paper, oh, and how to use a blow torch.